In a statement released to press, Chase — who worked with Gandolfini most recently on his directorial debut, 2012's Not Fade Away — labeled the actor a "genius." "Anyone who saw him even in the smallest of his performances knows that," Chase said. "He is one of the greatest actors of this or any time. A great deal of that genius resided in those sad eyes. I remember telling him many times, 'You don't get it. You're like Mozart.' There would be silence at the other end of the phone."

Chase continued: "For [wife] Deborah and [son] Michael and [daughter] Liliana this is crushing. And it's bad for the rest of the world. He wasn't easy sometimes. But he was my partner, he was my brother in ways I can't explain and never will be able to explain."

Gandolfini was in Italy to attend a film festival. The cause of the Emmy-winning actor's death is still unknown.